Land of Deseret: Presidential Election 2012

 baby girl at polling station

 

My daughter voted for the first time yesterday. 

 

Our candidate lost, quite dramatically, here in Deseret, but won, quite dramatically, the popular vote, electoral vote, and the election.

 

Voting took all of fifteen minutes. After we voted, we went for coffee.

 

I settled in for a night of watching the election.  She went out with friends.

 

I was very nervous how the election would go. For the first couple hours I could only bear to keep track online, via live bloggers and twitter feed. Nate Silver's tweet, "The writing. On the wall"- a personal favorite. I surfed between real politics, guardian news, the economist, fox, huffingpost, and the daily beast.  I texted with friends from both parties throughout the night. When the states started lining up for Obama, texts from my friends hoping for a Romney win, went silent. I felt sad for them.

 

When real election results from states started to come in, I turned on the television and channel surfed PBS, Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC.  Karl Rove's absolute denial, and subsequent implosion was a moment. So was Jon Stewart's assessment of getting absolutely nothing for the money, as in [390] million dollars resulting in 0-6 loss. Colbert asking Andrew Sullivan if Rove would now have to go into the witness protection program was much needed comic relief.  

 

During the long process, I fully embraced stress eating: I ate an entire bag of Parmesan pepper popcorn, two handfuls of pistachios, three mini Halloween candy bars. I drank a liter of pomegranate Italian soda, two cups of coffee, and probably a gallon of water. I am so hitting the gym tonight!

 

Romney's concession speech was gracious. And generous. And heartbreaking. He voiced his concern for the country. His final words brought closure. He said he and Ann would pray for the President.

 

Obama's speech was somber. And sobering. And inspiring. He admitted the sometime smallness of the campaign, and his role in it. He vowed to do and be better. The President/President Elect circled back to his promise of 2008 of one people, one nation.

 

It sounded to me that Obama hinted at a possible future role for Romney. That would be remarkable.

 

Watch & Listen Play List: Presidential Election - 6 November 2012

Choice 2012  Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune

I am headed out to vote in a few minutes, and then I'm going to take my I Voted sticker to Einstein's and get a free bagel schmear.

Later, before I settle in to watch the election results with Diane Sawyer, and also LinkTV, I am planning on picking up a chocolate raspberry concrete with salted almonds.

Let the stress eating begin!

Obama or Mitt, the country will survive. Moreover, we survived two years of relentless campaigning. Everybody in the country deserves a treat!

Here are a few tunes to help get you through the election tallies.

Electric Feel - MGMT
Crossroads - Doug Sham
Beautiful Day - U2
All Your Gold - Bat for Lashes
It's Alright - Dar Williams
Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
Swept Away - Fictionists
Eyes on the Prize - Mavis Staples
Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns - A.C. Newman
Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
Midnight City - M83
Big Parade - Lumineers
Wonderful the Way I Feel - My Morning Jacket
We're Alright Now - John Hiatt
 

The Day in Cartoons: The Power of Voting - Jeff Parker

The Power of Voting Jeff Parker, Florida Today and the Fort Myers News-Press

 

Tuesday is less than two hours away. I'm relieved this election will finally be over, but I'm nervous, too.

 

This time tomorrow, we'll know who will lead for the next four years.

 

If you didn't vote early, see you at the polls tomorrow! 

 

 

Watch & Listen Play List: November 2-4

The end is finally, finally here. This is the long hard push weekend before the election.

Next week we will know who will lead the country, and how the next four years will be for its citizens. 

If you've been reading between the obvious lines of my blog posts, I've made it clear I am not a fan of the 47 percent - Russsia is the biggest geopolitical threat - corporations are people - binders full of women - I'll create 12 million jobs/government does not create jobs or legitimate rape - rape thing - something god intended and anti lily ledbetter - outlaw some forms of birth control party.

The party and the guy I'm voting for, well, they're hardly perfect. Hardly. But they have both feet firmly planted in the 21st century. It is my hope there will be tears of relief, joy, and most of all, victory, in the Windy City this Tuesday.

Whatever your hope may be, if you're a fellow American, get out the vote, and happy listening this weekend!
Crazy - Afghan Whigs
How Much More - GoGos
I Can't Go For That - The Bird & The Bee
Ain't Messing Around - Gary Clark Jr.
What Is Life - George Harrison
Black and White Town - Doves
This Is Why We Fight - The Decemberists
They Done Wrong We Done Wrong - White Rabbits
The End of That - Plants and Animals
Get Off This - Cracker
Is That Clear - Nick Waterhouse
Reboot the Mission - The Wallflowers
People Have the Power - Patti Smith
Civilian - Wye Oak
The Base - Paul Banks
Shake Your Party Dress - Boca Chica
Swinging Party - Kindness
Tomorrow Comes Today - Gorillaz
A Little Respect - Erasure
The Shining Hour - Grant Lee Buffalo
Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
Man of the World - Alejandro Escovedo
Modern Man - Arcade Fire
Bright Lights Big City - Gary Clark Jr.
Windy Cindy - People Get Ready

Artist of the Day: Crania Anatomica Filigre - Joshua Harker

crania anatomica filigre joshua harker

It's a little sad that as a culture we don't embrace death, and our dead.

For the majority of us, the living, death is an abstraction out on the horizon, until it comes for us, or someone we know.

Death is the final frontier, as far as we know. We don't have any real evidence that there is something more than this life, so, why not celebrate all of it. The ancients did. Many cultures still do.

I'm celebrating the second day of Day of the Dead by going to a DoD-themed party with a group of friends.

I have no idea what to expect, other than good food and company.

---

artist bio: The skull has been a common subject in my art. It was symbolic to me in a couple of ways – as a piece that ties my more abstract works together with my representational figurative sculptures, and as a metaphor symbolizing the end of how I had been trying to disseminate my art and the exploration of new ways to reach people.To get the money to make these works, I started a Kickstarter campaign. When the project garnered nearly 1000 backers and became their number one most-funded sculpture project ever, I realized how powerful a tool I had picked up. I had no idea it would go that far. I’m pretty committed to 3D printing as a medium. It’s the only way to produce many of the intricate designs and geometries in my art, it allows me to reproduce my pieces at various scales and quantities without any loss of quality, and it frees my time to create rather than reproduce. I use a network of resources and vendors for my 3D printing needs and currently do not run my own machines. It’s a beautiful scenario in the way that the technology has empowered me as an artist to be more productive, in concert with being more creative.

Artist of the Day: Johnny Cash Day of the Dead - Robot Soda

johnny cash day of the dead robotsoda

November 1 is the first day of Day of the Dead and is the day we honor our beloved departed adult family and friends. November 2 is the day we honor children. I don't know if there is a day reserved for our departed animals.

For the last few weeks, I've been thinking of my uncle, my great-grandmother, my mother-in-law, and then one other.

Robot Soda opened its esty store two days ago and doesn't have a bio yet, so, until they get one, I'll make one for them.

artist bio: I'm a bad ass designer. As far as I'm concerned, Johnny Cash may be Cash'd Out, but he is the King of the Undead.

 

 "This [print]is a glow in the dark Silkscreen Poster created by Robot Soda for the for the Iconoclastic Dead art show in Mexico City. The posters are screen-printed on SBS (Solid Bleached Sulfate) the highest quality and paper board substrate."

What I Made Today: Day of the Dead Carved Clay Pin

 

carved clay pin  danna

 

I've been carving clay bracelets and beads the last few weeks in preparation for a holiday show, and decided to make something just for me.

 

I started out carving ceramic, but kept breaking the pieces. I tried my new favorite - paper clay, but it didn't work like I imagined it would. So, I went back to polymer clay, a medium I haven't worked with for a long time.

 

I found a great vector sugar skull image and transferred it to the poymer clay, baked it for fifteen minutes, then got carving. Then I sanded, embedded a pin back, painted, and sealed the piece. 

 

It's very much like carving a lino block, (exactly, to be honest), but instead of using the block to print, it is the finished piece.

 

I find the process very satisfying and relaxing.

 

Here's a detail of the carving - a little blurry, but you get the idea.